Registered

My Female German Shepherd is 4 years old and has been having trouble with going poop and seems to be getting worse. I've taken her to the vet for blood tests and x-rays. Her blood is normal and nothing unusual was seen on the x-rays, however, her large intestine was full of poop. She had a rectal exam and there doesn't seem to be any blockage. She is constantly trying to go and when she does go, her poop is soft and in small nuggets. She continues to eat and play and act totally normal with high energy. I have changed her food, at the vets request, as they seem to think it's a protein allergy. She has had chicken and salmon proteins in the past, but currently she is on a venison protein diet. The vet suggests IBD may be the cause and hopes that the food change will help but STILL NOTHING! Thought? Has anyone else experienced this before? I feel terrible for her.

Super Moderator

I'm not a vet!But I do have a dog that loves to eat grass and from time to time she overdoes it and has trouble passing it.What works for her is whole wheat bread loaded with margerine instead of kibble for a day.I give her one slice every couple of hours until she empties out,usually by that evening.The oil and fiber does the trick.Many folks add a dollop of canned 100%pumpkin(not pie filling) to the kibble,but my dog won't eat pumpkin.Check with your vet first!

Registered

What are you feeding her currently? Peristalsis is a series of wave-like muscle contractions that moves food to different processing stations in the digestive tract. I know for humans, having a mug of water first thing in the morning gets peristalasis happening. Playing with my dog with the garden hose gets a lot of water in him.

Registered

Most of my dogs will struggle unless they get enough exercise. My Dane would only go if I took her for a walk, and as @Dunkirk says insufficient water will stop things up. Kibble fed dogs especially should have their water intake closely watched and dogs who are overweight also frequently struggle. Some other factors to watch are pain or stiffness in the back and hips as it sometimes prevents them from positioning themselves.

Registered

My Female German Shepherd is 4 years old and has been having trouble with going poop and seems to be getting worse. I've taken her to the vet for blood tests and x-rays. Her blood is normal and nothing unusual was seen on the x-rays, however, her large intestine was full of poop. She had a rectal exam and there doesn't seem to be any blockage. She is constantly trying to go and when she does go, her poop is soft and in small nuggets. She continues to eat and play and act totally normal with high energy. I have changed her food, at the vets request, as they seem to think it's a protein allergy. She has had chicken and salmon proteins in the past, but currently she is on a venison protein diet. The vet suggests IBD may be the cause and hopes that the food change will help but STILL NOTHING! Thought? Has anyone else experienced this before? I feel terrible for her.

Registered

A more natural diet may be in order. Something easy to digest with adequate fiber. I would look at some groups that talk about dogs and IBD and steer away from prescription dog food. It's expensive and the ingredients are usually very poor. Home cooked, raw or canned food with a fiber supplement may help. I would steer away from raw meaty bones though since bone is constipating. I had one of my cats in the hospital from constipation in the past and can not feed him ground bone. Water intake is important as well. Another reason to not feed kibble. It is very dehydrating and dehydration makes constipation worse. Even adding rinsed and drained canned green beans would add some fiber if you don't want to do something like pumpkin or psyllium.